Government to investigate on addiction to internet gaming

The government is going to carry out a study to investigate the growing problem of young people being addicted to internet gaming. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs is leading the project, which aims to identify the variables influencing excessive online content consumption and create a framework for anticipating, identifying, and using suitable coping mechanisms in response.

According to an official statement, the Department of Consumer Affairs in collaboration with the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) Bangalore "proposes to undertake a research on the disruptive impulse control behavioural patterns of digital consumption that may cause vulnerabilities."

A meeting was held on Monday under the chairmanship of Rohit Kumar Singh, Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs. The meeting was attended by Anupam Mishra, Joint Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, Pratima Murthy, Director NIMHANS and Manoj Sharma, Professor of Clinical Psychology at NIMHANS.

Singh observed that "online gaming addiction leads to social isolation and neglect of real-life responsibilities". It often involves compulsive gaming behaviour and can have detrimental effects on mental and physical health, he added.

Online gaming can consume significant amounts of time and money, leading to neglect of other important activities and financial strain, Singh said.

Outlining the purpose of the study, he said it is "to build a responsible digital consumption model-based on knowledge, consumption and practices, currently focused on online gaming but which can also be scaled to digital social media or any other online platform subsequently." Further, the study would identify the underlying factors of excessive consumption of online content and based on the examination of these factors, a framework could be created to predict, alert, and intervene with appropriate coping mechanisms too.

The study will provide guidance to consumers to ensure optimum use of technology and minimise risk both economical and physical.

The data needs to be analysed same segment-wise i.e. age groups and socio-economic strata of the consumers, finding out some of the existing interventions and coping mechanisms for mitigating progression to excessive consumption etc.

To formulate some mechanisms to promote healthy digital habits and prevent excessive consumption, Murthy said the project is a necessity of the time.